A new memorandum has firmed up China and Russia's intent to lead the construction of a new lunar base to be completed by 2036, as NASA talks about scaling back its own lunar ambitions.
On top of that, a lunar space elevator is way easier than an Earth one.
A surface railgun, and other mass launchers, are also much better on the Moon as well, as there is no atmosphere so it becomes possible to launch things at scale straight back down to Earth, or to Mars or anywhere in the solar system. Imagine launching a new giant mining machine from the moon straight to some remote region on Earth and then launching another one at Mars, and even more at smaller asteroids that will themselves be used to launch more machines/industries/goods throught the solar system.
Yeah, there are a lot of possibilities here when you don’t have to worry about atmosphere getting in the way. Also, maglev trains to connect different moon bases would be a practical solution since you don’t need to make a depressurized tunnel for them to fly in. On a related note, this was a great overview of the research happening at the Tiangong station where they are focusing on tech that would allow colonies to become self sufficient. Stuff like 3d printing, growing food, etc. It does look like China is getting serious about space in a way that nobody has done before.
A surface railgun, and other mass launchers, are also much better on the Moon as well, as there is no atmosphere so it becomes possible to launch things at scale straight back down to Earth, or to Mars or anywhere in the solar system. Imagine launching a new giant mining machine from the moon straight to some remote region on Earth and then launching another one at Mars, and even more at smaller asteroids that will themselves be used to launch more machines/industries/goods throught the solar system.
Yeah, there are a lot of possibilities here when you don’t have to worry about atmosphere getting in the way. Also, maglev trains to connect different moon bases would be a practical solution since you don’t need to make a depressurized tunnel for them to fly in. On a related note, this was a great overview of the research happening at the Tiangong station where they are focusing on tech that would allow colonies to become self sufficient. Stuff like 3d printing, growing food, etc. It does look like China is getting serious about space in a way that nobody has done before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwAj396v0iw
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: